uked magazine sep 2014

ukedchat.com September 2014 Issue 9

Supporting the Educational Community

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PedagogyBehaviour

mangagement stategies within

a PRU

DiscussionWelcoming

and exploring misconceptions

PedagogyExtending

guided reading with everyone

ReviewReflective

teaching in schools

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Issue 9: September 2014Subscribe by email for free at bit.ly/ukedmagsub

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Pedagogy & Skills4 Asking QuestionsAlex Bellars questions what is the best way to technology to ask questions.

9 Misconceptions WelcomedAlessio Bernardelli explores the possibilities of starting learning from misconceptions and how a teacher might get started.

12 Behaviour Management Techniques@cazzypot writes about teaching in a pupil referral unit and discusses behaviour management ideas which will help in every setting.

14 Supporting the New Music Curriculum

15 Guided Reading for AllRachel Preece-Dawson talks about her students’ love of reading and using whole class guided reading to develop it further.

25 CPD for the ArtsHolly Barradell shares some of the most exciting CPD opportunities coming up this year in the arts.

Regular Features11 UKED Jobs Add your vacancies to our listings

17 UKED Resources Share your resource on our open access site and discover wonderful material for your class.

20 Ask the Community Amy Follows and Abigail Steel offer advice for ensuring all children, regardless of ability, can succeed.

21 Recently on ukedchat.com24 Book Shelf Reflective Teaching in Schools

27 ICTmagic Resources

Discussion & Guides6 Best UK Educators on TwitterThe UKEdChat community has been voting and we reveal who are your favourite UK Educators to follow.

8 UKEdChat - Past and FutureWe take a trip down memory lane and look at the origins of UKEdChat and where it goes from here - We’re keen to hear your thoughts.

18 Who is Andy?Andy Knill explores what it means to be an online educator and to benefits and potential pitfalls leaving a digital trail can have.

19 Healthy DietsCorinne Boswinkel-Matebge discusses how schools should lead by example and start a healthy Food revolution.

21 Every Child Does MatterNatalie Packer shares her vast experience of helping children with special educational needs and gives wonderful ideas and trips to use in your class.

26 The Food PlanSarah Wordlaw writes about the innovative approach Christ Church Primary are taking to food and the added benefits to their children’s learning.

28 Reading Corner lovedbykids.co.ukWe review the fantastic reading and learning platform - Story Station.

ContributorsAlex Bellars @bellaaleAlessio Bernardelli @asober @Collaborat_Ed@cazzypotRachel Preece-Dawson @rpd1972Andy Knill @aknill @globalsolo @gasigictCorinne Boswimkel-Matebge @FoodRevEnschedeAmy Follows @anuamsamsAbigail Steel @BlackberrycottNatalie Packer @NataliePackerHolly Barradell @drama_hollySarah Wordlaw @christchurchsw9Martin Burrett @ICTmagic

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From the Editor

Welcome to the September issue of the UKED Magazine. Across the UK and beyond, educators and students have been resting over the summer break. In this issue we focus on special educational needs and provide you with advices and tips for ensuring your children get the best access to learning and progress this year.

Questions are one of the most important things we have. Asking questions leads to understand. Alex Bellars shares his favourite tools to help ask questions and gather answers.

Alessio Bernardelli writes about misconceptions and how they can be seen as an opportunity for learning. Read his insightful article on page 9.

Most teachers in mainstream schools find it hard to imagine working inside a pupil referral unit. About about one teacher’s experience and her advice on behaviour management for your own class.

Rachel Preece-Dawson writes about how she has adapted a widely used reading technique and found it has boosted her pupils’ enthusiasm and performance in reading.

Andy Knill discusses a growing concern of 21st century digital educators - Our digital footprint. Do you really know who looks at your digital life and should openness be celebrated?

Corinne Boswimkel-Matebge encourages us to start a food revolution in our schools and Sarah Wordlaw writes about the amazing food project happening at her inner London primary school.

Amy Follows, Abigail Steel and Natalie Packer offer their tips and advice for helping children with special educational needs to do their very best in your class, starting on page 20.

Holly Barradell tells us about her selection of the best CPD opportunities for teachers interested in the arts and we finish by reviewing the reading and learning platform at lovedbykids.co.uk.

Martin Burrett

@ICTmagic @UKEdMag [email protected]

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By Alex Bellars

Professor Guy Claxton proposed that “good learning starts with questions, not answers”. As my own learning and teaching approach has developed, over time, I think this sentence has become more and more central to how things work in my classroom.

I have a large display on the wall of my room to remind me and my pupils of the different types of Socratic questioning, in order to constantly help us all clarify our thinking; to challenge our own assumptions; to provide evidence for our arguments; to offer alternative perspectives; to extrapolate what the potential consequences of our answers might be; to question the initial question - overall, to engage in a process of critical thinking.

In parallel with this, and often hand-in-hand in my classroom, the rapid advent of digital technology plays a major role. Initially, this was almost entirely teacher-controlled; standing at the front, with the IWB a mere extension of my laptop screen, a little like that OHP had been when I first qualified... Increasingly, via the ‘bring your own device’ or BYOD, where schools allow pupils to use their own smartphones or tablets in class. BYOD process has evolved as close as possible to 1-to-1 (mainly with my older classes, though not exclusively). My school does not have a huge array of its own ICT equipment, whereas increasingly many of my older pupils have 3G-enabled devices, and happily, the school’s leadership has a relatively forward-looking approach to their usage in the classroom. (I know this will dismay some - but I happily invite you to come and watch us in action, if you need convincing...)

There is an almost bewildering array of web-tools and apps available for harnessing questioning in the classroom, and it is possible to pick and choose the most appropriate one for the task at hand, or indeed, to stick to low-tech approaches if they work best in a given scenario.

The following are my current ‘Top 5 free questioning tools’, and are in no particular order (but ask me in 6 months time and this list may well have evolved somewhat):

Socrative.com is a tool which can either be used via the recently-upgraded website, or downloaded for free as an app on teachers’ and pupils’ smartphones or tablets, which certainly makes sense as it is optimised for smaller screens. It offers four main features: firstly, a simple “quick question”, which can be in three forms (multiple choice, true/false or short answer - therefore allowing not just closed questions, but shortish open ones too). These can be off-the-cuff, spontaneous questions, requiring no advance planning - but crucially,

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04 UKED Magazine

still allowing the answers from the whole class to be downloaded as a spreadsheet or PDF, saved to Google Drive, or emailed for AfL purposes, to help with planning further lessons on the basis of how well the pupils have taken things on board so far.

Secondly, you can string a pre-planned series of questions together into a quiz. Again, the answers can be in all the above forms, and the answers collated for further attention after the quiz is completed. This works well in a mid-lesson/mid-topic setting.

The third type of activity is called a ‘space race’, and is a competitive version of a quiz, where pupils answer questions in a race to get their little spaceship across the screen first. Once again, various question types are possible. This element is appropriate for the end of a lesson or topic.

Finally, there is the ‘exit ticket’ feature, allowing pupils to demonstrate the extent to which they have grasped what they have learned for that lesson/topic.

Put these four features together and you have a very useful tool indeed. It is simplicity itself to use and it provides teachers with very useful data to show where he/she needs to add more detail, explain something better, and so on - an example of a powerful feature that educational technology adds, which traditional approaches cannot do. Teachers can also share quizzes with each other via the website or app.

The second app/site I am playing around with at the moment is InfuseLearning.com, which in addition to the features mentioned already, allows questions to be answered in several other forms: firstly, as a drawing or sketch, which can then be projected, discussed and annotated by the teacher and pupils; secondly, as items to be sorted into the correct order; thirdly, allowing pupils to submit longer, open-ended text answers (which can also be annotated and discussed afterwards); and finally as a Likert scale, either from 1-5 or 1-7, giving the teacher the means to establish how sure pupils are about a new topic, or how strongly they agree or disagree with something which is wonderful for debates.

Kahoot at getkahoot.com offers a similar approach to quizzes and questions, in a slightly younger-skewed format. Once again, there is a free app, or one can simply use the website itself. Teachers can share quizzes and Kahoot allows students to create and share their own quizzes. There are, of course, pros and cons to this: the act of creating a quiz is in itself a tremendously powerful activity - but beware of allowing pupils to create quizzes full of incorrect or even inappropriate material. Indeed, a more generalised health warning should perhaps

accompany much of the material shared online - by educators as well. Do check for errors, as contributors’ generosity is not always in direct correlation with their accuracy.

One exciting new experimental feature of Kahoot is the ability to base questions on video extracts pulled from YouTube, which opens up a huge wealth of material. Speaking as an MFL teacher, this is potentially a fantastically useful way of creating valuable listening material (with visual support provided by the clips). This feature is still in Beta mode and Kahoot are keen for feedback on how they could improve it... Let them know what you think!

Fourthly, Plickers.com. This first emerged onto my radar last term and, as is so often the case nowadays, I became aware of it via Twitter. I quickly saw the value of incorporating it into my regular rotation of tools. From the Plickers website, I printed off 40 individual bar codes, printed them onto laminated cards about 20 cm square, and now each pupil can use his or her card to vote A, B, C or D in answer to any question asked in the lesson. They register a vote by rotating the card around so that the letter they want to use is at the top. Using the free app, the teacher simply scans the whole class, registering each pupil’s vote in a single sweep, thereby requiring only one device per class. This removes the need to rely on BYOD or iffy school wifi networks. Once again, the answers can be studied afterwards via the projector, picked apart and discussed as necessary. Because the pupils cannot tell what each other is voting, it removes the tendency to wait until everyone else has voted, look quickly around the room and “follow the herd”, as can happen with simple A, B, C, D cards or a colour coding RAG system, but in my experience, has also removed pressure on the individual pupil, as everyone votes in complete confidence. Until the teacher employs the feature which allows the votes of the whole class to be displayed on the screen, of course!

Of course, with all of these tools much of the learning will happen via the questions AROUND the questions - often utterly unplanned, but deriving from discussions resulting from the planned questions set by the teacher using the above web-tools.

Having said all this, it still has to be said that the devices I use most often in lessons are my trusty class-set of mini-whiteboards, erasers and pens. The flexibility of these - which have after all not really evolved all that much since Roman wax tablets, via Victorian slates - is second-to-none, and in conjunction with projector-based task generation tools, such as those contained within another favourite tool, Triptico (triptico.co.uk), they can be hugely powerful.

Whilst putting this post together, I have also been studying posts such as the one below, from Chris Harte (@charte) on real-time use of learner analytics using Google Forms to speed up the ability to gather, analyse and act on data within the classroom, which would tie in well with the data produced by the web tools mentioned above -See bit.ly/uked14sep01.

If we can tailor our questions ever more precisely to the requirements of our pupils, we can really turbo-charge the learning process, and I believe that the tools highlighted above can really help us to do so. Give them a try - and let the #ukedchat community know how you get on!

Alex has been teaching for nearly twenty years, in both state and private schools, and from KS2 to KS5, mainly teaching French and German, but also ICT and PE. His blog about teaching and anything else that grabs him is at alexbellars.wordpress.com, and find him on Twitter at @bellaale.

Background image by Martin Burrett

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UKEdChat Community’s Favourite UK Educators on Twitter

To view an alphabetised hyperlinked list of these educators, go to

bit.ly/ukedtwitter14

Browse the wonderful UK educators nominated by hundreds of educators from the UKEdChat community

Looking for even more educators to follow? Browse our international map of

educators and even add yourself.Go to bit.ly/educatormap

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The way teachers have embraced Twitter as a means of sharing, dialogue and debate has been astonishing. This is clear to see by the continued popularity of #UKEdChat on Twitter, which has recently celebrated its fourth birthday. Since its inception, thousands of educators globally have popped into the hash tag to join in with the Thursday night sessions (see the archive at ukedchat.com/archive), to ask for support, or to share ideas, strategies or resources that have helped in the classroom.

UKEdChat was developed on the back of the successful weekly #edchat hash tag which was and is very popular globally, but concentrated on a U.S.A. perspective and, at times, not best suited for a U.K. audience. Colin Hill (@chilledu), one of the ‘founding fathers’, initially polled UK educators of their preferred weekly time to participate in these Twitter based discussions, with Thursday’s at 8pm proving the most popular time, using the #UKEdChat hash tag. The first session took place on Thursday 24th June 2010. UKEdChat discussion sessions are hosted by keen educators who wish to guide the discussion and choose a selection of topics for the community to vote on. Any educator can put themself forward to host. The hash tag continued to organically develop, with resistance being given to commercial companies who were interested in claiming the hash tag as their own. It is now the hub for UK educators on Twitter.

Martin Burrett (@ICTmagic) has helped administer UKEdChat sessions since March 2012, with the sessions continuing to attract new Twitter users, new teachers and promoting reflective practice for teachers with an interest in UK education. Keen to see the hash tag develop and engage more people, Martin initiated the popular TeachTweet video CPD sessions within the hash tag (See ukedchat.com/teachtweet), which continue to be popular with the community.

To further support the community, last year (2013) the UKEdChat team decided to develop the ukedchat.com website as well as producing (this) UKED Magazine, inviting contributions purely from the educational community, and thereby continuing the ethos of sharing and collaboration. The audience growth has been exponential. Services have continued to be developed: including job listings (ukedchat.com/jobs and @UKEdJobs) which uses our extensive network to draw on and support amazing and talented educators from the community and beyond; Subject Special

specific #UKEdChat sessions; up-to-date features and ideas on what teacher can use in the classroom; and our newly launched open access resource sharing area (ukedchat.com/resources and @UKEdResources).

At every stage, the purpose of this has always been to support the dedicated community of educators who engage with the hash tag, the UKEdChat website, or the UKED Magazine with news, pedagogy, ideas and resources.

In fact, following advice from one valued member of the #UKEdChat community, the decision was taken to become a Social Enterprise Limited Company, with the mission aimed to engage, support and promote the benefits of teacher collaboration through social media sources.

What does this mean? A social enterprise applies commercial strategies to maximize improvements in communities, rather than maximizing profits for external shareholders. Hill told us, “The organic nature of #UKEdChat has always been a priority, and a sphere we are determined to sustain. Our focus has always been to share and celebrate classroom ideas, pedagogy and teacher communication”.

What’s next for the UKEdChat community? That depends on where the community takes it.

UKEdChatEnterprising & Evolving Education on Social Media

08 UKED MagazineBackground images by Martin Burrett

WelcomedScience is undoubtedly a subject where

misconceptions are a common feature that crawls into every classroom. The misuse of scientific language in our everyday life certainly helps them to put even deeper roots into learners’ minds. A common example is the use we all make of kilograms to refer to weight in our everyday life. I have to admit that, even though I am a Physicist, I would somewhat feel awkward to tell my doctor “My mass is 80 kg”, so I sadly compromise too and often say “I weigh 80 kg” (in my dreams by the way, but I am not going to reveal my real mass to the readers).

So the majority of our pupils comes into our science lessons loaded with misconceptions about science and their parents are often just as bad, if not worse. A friend of mine, who will remain nameless, once told me that she thought shooting stars were actual stars falling across the sky. I couldn’t resist and told her that this only happens in Toyland. But is it so bad to have misconceptions? Is it so bad to let learners talk about science in their own words and through their own misconceptions?

I would argue that without misconceptions there would be no learning. This is to say that if a science teacher is not aware of what misconceptions their learners have they are similar to a blind man trying to cross the road. This is one of the reasons why many science teachers who mark exam papers find the process so valuable, as they get to see what misconceptions a very large number of children have.

But knowing what misconceptions pupils may have in general is different from knowing what misconceptions the learners in our classes have. It is very important to probe the grounds and find as much detail as possible about the misconceptions in our children. So, even simple questions like, “Explain how the bulb lights up when the switch is closed,” provide a wealth of information about how much learners really know and understand about scientific processes.

The above question is an example of what is often referred to as a diagnostic question and going through the learners’ responses would give real insight into their understanding. But, apart from taking considerable time to go through a load of open ended responses, there is also the risk that some learners might not want

By Alessio Bernardelli

to write too much and they end up leaving some details that could be important because they want to finish the task earlier, or they might miss some points because they simply don’t know how to express the concept in writing. Another type of diagnostic questioning can come in the form of multiple choice questions and it could save you a lot of time, because you can map the learners’ responses very quickly, especially if you use tools like socrative.com (see page 4).

What image best descibes the forces acting on the tennis ball flying over the net?

It is vital, however, that the choices come from real misconceptions and that the correct answer is not too obvious, like the typical multiple choice questions TV channels ask when they promise the chance to win a massive prize if you answer the following:

What actor plays Indiana Jones?

a) Anthony Hopkinsb) Brad Pittc) Harrison Fordd) Sean Connery

Unless real misconceptions feature in our multiple choices, these types of questions are useless. The example of the tennis ball hits a number of possible misconceptions about a ball moving over the net (above), one of them being that children often think you need a force in the direction of movement for an object to keep moving in that direction. After all, this is quite reasonable to assume, as in our world things eventually stop when a force is no longer exerted due to frictional forces.

UKED Magazine 09

Alessio Bernardelli is a multiple award winning teacher of Physics. He is the Co-Founder of CollaboratEd.org.uk and also works as a consultant for the Institute of Physics in the roles of Network Coordinator, Teaching and Learning Coach and Editor of Talkphysics.org. Alessio was Head of KS3 Science for over 5 years and he also worked with NGfL Cymry as a Field Development Officer and with TES as the Science Subject Lead. Alessio is an Official iMindMap Leader, a Peer Coaching Facilitator and a TASC Specialist with years of experience in developing teacher’s through effective CPD, coaching and mentoring. You can follow Alessio on Twitter as @asober, or @Collaborat_Ed

Taking time to establish the baseline from where our learners start can pay great dividends in the long term and exposing misconceptions can be an effective way to achieve that. Have you worked out which image best describes the forces on the ball yet? If in doubt ask a Physicist!

It is all very good finding out about the misconceptions our learners have, but the real challenge is how to demolish those misconceptions and help students generate better models and explanations in their pool of skills and understanding.

Derek Muller (@veritasium) is an Australian who did the coolest Ph.D. ever and it is all about this idea of exposing misconceptions before we can get any science in people’s perceptions of our world. Veritasium (bit.ly/uked14sep02) was the name of choice when Derek created his highly successful YouTube channel. In this video (bit.ly/uked14sep03) he poses some serious questions about the effectiveness of explanatory video tutorials that just do that, i.e. explain a concept eloquently. Derek’s findings seem to suggest that watching a well crafted video that explains a scientific concept reinforces pupils’ misconceptions rather than challenging them, but when the misconceptions are presented first, and Veritasium usually does that by interviewing members of the public, the audience is forced to concentrate more and challenge their own understanding of the concepts talked about by other people and eventually by the presenter showing the correct explanation. If you have never watched a video by Veritasium, you should certainly have a go with your students and perhaps even give them the task to make similar videos by asking their friends and family to explain the science they are learning at school on camera before the topic is started in class.

These types of videos and approaches in general are very effective in helping learners challenge their own misconceptions and in leading them to a better understanding of science, but I believe an even more radical step could be taken to develop communication and scientific skills in our learners. I would propose

we welcome misconceptions in our classrooms to an even greater degree and that we mix them with the real science. This would really make pupils think in order to make sense of what they are observing. So far, Veritasium videos, Stuart Naylor’s Concept Cartoons, etc, have worked on the formula “We give you some incorrect explanations and the correct explanation. You decide which is the best one by carefully listening/reading and observing.” But what if we had different people talking about a scientific phenomenon and each one of them said something right and something that is a misconception? Wouldn’t learners need to concentrate even more to sift the right science from the misconceptions? Wouldn’t they need to work even closer as a group to come up with a correct explanation? And most importantly, wouldn’t they need to carefully test every claim to decide what part of each person’s statements works and what does not?

I recommend you to try it with your students and observe the results. Using this method with a group of Year 5 learners we at CollaboratEd got explanations that far exceeded in accuracy and relevant use of scientific terminology those of a group of high achieving Year 11 students on the same demonstration without using this technique.

So, misconceptions are part of the job for a science teacher, but use them to your advantage and not as something to keep at a distance.Image Credits: Tennis net images provided by Alessio Bernardelli. Background images by Martin Burrett

10 UKED Magazine

[email protected]

Feat

ured

Pos

ition

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Primary HeadteacherSowerby Community

Primary SchoolNorth Yorkshire

bit.ly/ukedjob236Closing date: 26/09/2014

Primary HeadteacherManor Field Primary

SchoolHertfordshire


Computer Science WriterGCSEPod


Successful Behaviour Techniques : the Key to Teaching in PRUs

For the last 12 years, I have taught English at a large, city-wide PRU — or pupil referral unit. In our case, the PRU operates as a number of small centres spread around the city.

Our PRU is for pupils who are permanently excluded from mainstream school. Most of them are in this situation because of the impact their behaviour was having on themselves and others. Academic ability is not usually a particular issue, although some have fallen behind their peers because of the disrupted lives they lead.

Many of the young people we work with are the victims of poverty and chaos. Some are in the care of the local authority, or are well-known to social services. Most live in deprived areas where they may have been exposed to criminal activity, and some are known to be involved with gangs. Weekly, we see parents who will openly admit that they are struggling to cope with their offspring. In several cases, we know there are drug and/or alcohol issues within the family. Some of the children are dirty and/or underfed, and some of the parents are illiterate.

Our centre accommodates the most challenging of these pupils from year 6 and above. These are the kids that the other behavioural PRUs struggle to manage. As a result of this we usually have groups of no more than 6 pupils at a time —with a teaching assistant always present.

Some pupils have a statement for special educational needs, often for behaviour. Many have been diagnosed

with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). I know this is a hotly debated issue, but I remain utterly convinced that this condition is over-diagnosed. So often I’ve seen ADHD being used to justify the behaviour of the child. This can mean that we don’t get to the root of the poor behaviour and the conduct doesn’t improve.

Improving behaviour is absolutely central to what we do. We must encourage the kids to modify and improve their conduct if we are to break the damaging cycle of poor behaviour. Without good behaviour - there is no education. It is that crucial. We operate a system of certificates, stickers and phone calls home to reward good behaviour and work. We also keep pupils in at break times, as a sanction. We rarely exclude pupils, although there have been some exceptions.

PRUs are usually short-term education providers, with pupils attending for periods of between 6 weeks and a term. However, because of a lack of suitable provision elsewhere, or a shortage of appropriate places, many

12 UKED Magazine

More to PRUs than you thought? Behaviour like sleeping in class doesn’t

happen at @cazzypot’s school

of our pupils stay with us much longer. Some are awaiting long-term provision at a school for

pupils with SEN, but the plan is usually to get the majority of pupils to a point

where they are fit and able to return to mainstream school. Academically,

therefore, we expect them to achieve as much as they would at mainstream school.

It would certainly be counter-productive to the whole process were they to fall

behind their peers during their time with us.

Thus, the second key challenge for us is to try to

ensure that the kids are producing work at the

level they should be — without

resorting to dumbing-down or gimmicks. We follow the national curriculum, and try to ensure that the topics covered are commensurate with what the mainstream schools are delivering. After all, if the kids in mainstream school are studying the finer details of Macbeth or Oliver Twist, it’s an absolute travesty if our kids aren’t too.

Social and economic deprivation is a sad fact of life for most of our pupils. As I mentioned above, many of these kids are raised in circumstances that make their lives difficult from the outset. Educational achievement is so often low down on the list of priorities. I think the role of PRUs is to break down the barriers to learning, and try to put education back at the top of the agenda. Is there a more effective passport out of poverty than educational achievement? I don’t think there is.

It’s very important that each teacher develops their own methods for dealing with challenging behaviour, but I would like to share here a few examples of behaviour management techniques that have proved successful for me. • We should always remember we are their teachers: not their friends, councillors, family, social workers or any

other group. It’s important not to stray too far from the brief.• Respect works both ways. It’s very important to give the same respect to the pupils that you want them to

extend to you. It’s also advisable to apologise if you’re in the wrong.• It isn’t a bad idea to show the pupils that you’re human. If you make a mistake, or something goes wrong, be

prepared to admit it.• Our voice is arguably our greatest tool. I would suggest keeping the volume low and the tone light. Do try not

to shout. Silence also has its place, I would strongly advise never to talk until the whole class is listening; just wait.

• Don’t ever make a threat that you’re not fully prepared to carry-out.• Very few kids, in my experience, want to miss their social time. A few minutes shaved off a break or lunch time

is sometimes all it takes to effectively make a point.• Perhaps it goes without saying, but always have high expectations. Know what each child is capable of and

consider asking them do work again if it is below standard. Behaviour, also - make it clear that you expect the best.

• Be consistent. I know it’s not always easy, but once pupils can see that you stand firm on standards, sanctions and rewards, they’ll be much more likely to respond positively.

• Don’t be defeated. I know this is sometimes easier said than done, but do try to keep persevering — even with the most challenging pupils. It’s here where supportive colleagues and effective senior leaders can hopefully have a real impact.

Image credits: https://www.flickr.com/photos/pinksherbet/6961676525/ by D Sharon Pruitt used under Commercial Creative Commons 2.0 License.

A teacher for 19 years. I have taught in key stages 2-4 in mainstream schools, special schools and, more recently, in the role of Subject Leader for English in a Pupil Referral Unit. I also worked for some time in an LEA funded advisory capacity, providing strategies for dealing with pupil behaviour issues.I write about education because I thought I had a perspective to offer that differed from the widely-seen dialogue. After writing for numerous publications, in summer 2013 I decided to start my own blog site: cazzypotsblog.wordpress.com. Find me on Twitter at @Cazzypot

UKED Magazine 13

Teachers are facing huge challenges this term in preparation for the new curriculum and need the support of up-to-date

resources. A&C Black has embraced the changes across many subjects, including Music, and understands the imminent challenges

facing both schools and music hubs.

It has been over ten years since the first publication of Music Express, and these award-winning books have been widely used in primary

schools and music services ever since. Music Express Online follows the release of new print editions and is a subscription service, giving teachers

online access to everything they need to teach music from Early Years to age 11.

All schools teach music as part of the National Curriculum, and it is often delivered by class teachers with limited musical experience. Music Express, and

Music Express Online, is written specifically to meet the requirements of the National Curriculum, and in a way to equip all teachers with confidence, whatever

their musical background. The key benefit for non-specialists is that no music reading is required to use the resources.

The site provides teachers with over 300 lessons and over 400 songs, carefully organised into a year of teaching organised by term. Delivery of lessons is based around

the following three tools:

• A video player, with the ability to synchronise instructions and lyrics alongside the video

• Interactive visual displays which can play music and also ‘drag and drop’ images across the screen

• Song player with synchronised lyric display

Designed to provide teachers with clear progression in music as well as cross-curricular topic work, Music Express Online has been specially devised to support both non-specialist and specialist teachers. It can be used as a complete scheme or as a dip in resource to tailor make music provision. Lessons are searchable by subject or theme and divided by age group and term and songs are searchable alphabetically or by age, theme, style or format. There are also resources for whole class instrumental teaching, warm-ups for different age groups and materials to develop basic musical skills. Lesson plans, schemes of work and more are available

for all music curricula of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The authors of the new Music Express are well known and highly respected primary music education specialists. They are Helen MacGregor (Primary Music Consultant), Maureen Hanke (Head of Norfolk Music Service), Sue Nicholls (Music Education Consultant), Ian Lawrence (Primary Music Teacher), Stephen Chadwick (Composer) and Matthew Holmes (Children’s Music Educator, Musician and Writer)

For more information and to subscribe visit

http://www.musicexpress.co.uk

Supporting the New Music

Curriculum

Image credits: https://www.flickr.com/photos/shutterhacks/4474421855 by ###### used under Commercial Creative Commons 2.0 License.

UKED Magazine 15

Hands up: who plans lessons where, for approximately two hours per week, at least 75% of the pupils in your class are engaged in self-managed, seldom-marked, time-filling activities?

Guided reading has always been a bit of a bugbear of mine: it takes so long to plan for such short sessions with so few meaningfully-engaged children. Don’t get me wrong: there is nothing nicer than reading an engrossing text with a small group of enthusiastic children who enjoy talking about their reading, but how often does that happen in guided reading sessions, however well trained the rest of the class are in silently reading or copying out spellings?

So, I was intrigued to join in a Twitter conversation at the end of last year about whole class guided reading. After some thought, and some discussion with my pupils (who, on the whole told me that they disliked the carousel-style guided reading I had been taught to deliver about as much as I did, if not more), I decided to give it a try.

My first problem was choosing the text. Early this spring term when I decided to try whole class guided reading, I had a spread of reading levels from about 1a/2c to 4c, across my mixed-age Y2/3 class. I also had, as most classes do, those children who love to lose themselves in a story and those for whom, quite frankly, reading is not enjoyable. Again, I asked advice of Twitter (my initial idea of Roald Dahl’s The Witches was shot down in flames) and finally stumbled upon The Last Polar Bears by Harry Horse. I wanted to pitch my choice of book towards the middle/upper end of the ability range in my class. It turned out to be an excellent choice.

We settled down to our first session. Half an hour where the children could choose to come and sit in front of the whiteboard on the carpet or stay in their place at a table. Only 2 children decided to remain in their seats and soon changed their minds. An e-book version of the book was displayed on the IWB and off we set. The story and style of writing soon drew us in. I read a bit aloud;

they were asked to read bits in their heads; we discussed and unpicked and spotted vocabulary and punctuation and generally lost ourselves in the beginning of the story.

I then asked for a volunteer to read a little of the story aloud to the class. The first thumb to chest – I try not to use hands up to stop the flapping and accompanying seal noises - belonged to a usually quiet, not very confident boy who found reading a bit of a struggle. He locked eyes with me and the look of absolute desperation to be chosen to read some of this amazing book aloud to his classmates was overwhelming. I looked at him. He looked at me. I glanced at the next short paragraph on the IWB and thought to myself how much he would struggle to decode some of the words. I looked at him again, but simply could not refuse his eager expression.

Guided Reading For AllGuided Reading For AllBy Rachel Preece-Dawson

I was absolutely blown away by the way the boy read aloud to his classmates. He read with such confidence and expression, and with such obvious delight. When he had finished, he looked at me in amazement. Had he really just done that? I smiled at him and watched him positively glow with pride.

My eyes were opened that morning to how sharing a real book as a whole class rather than sitting in forced little ability-groups sharing insipid group texts from a scheme is what reading in class should be about. I had always known there was a better way than a GR carousel, and for me, there is no going back.

All of my guided reading in Spring and Summer terms this year was done through whole-class sessions. Two, three or four times a week, we all gathered together and enjoyed a good book. We read aloud; we read silently; we discussed and unpicked and predicted. Most of all, though, we just enjoyed sharing some excellent texts together.

So what of progress? Sadly, sharing excellent books together needs to have some sort of measurable outcome other than beaming faces and excited chatter and cries of, “Awwwww!” when we have to stop and move on to something else. This year in reading, my Y2s made an average of 6.2 APS progress, with every single Y2 achieving 2a or above in their National Curriculum tests. My Year 3s made an average of 5.25 APS progress, with boys making a staggering 7 points progress over the year. I know from my tracking that the vast majority of that progress was made in Spring and Summer terms.

I’m so glad I found an alternative to the dry guided reading carousel sessions of old. Not because of the amount of progress my pupils made, or because of the time I have saved in planning and preparing pointless holding activities, but because I don’t think I’ll ever forget the expression on that little boy’s face when he first realised that he wanted to read aloud and then when he did so with such success.

Rachel Preece-Dawson is a Y4/5/6 teacher and English, ICT and Teaching and Learning co-ordinator at a small, rural school. See her blog at rpd1972.wordpress.com or find her on Twitter @rpd1972

Image credits: https://www.flickr.com/photos/pinksherbet/6961676525/ by D Sharon Pruitt used under Commercial Creative Commons 2.0 License.Other images by Martin Burrett

16 UKED Magazine

Upload your resources to online storage like Dropbox or

Google Drive

Write a few details and provide the link on

ukedchat.com/resources

Everyone can access your resources without signing in and you retain control & the

right of your resources.

Letter Stimulus for Video Project@ICTmagic

http://ukedchat.com/PCO00004

2 Step Money Word ProblemsBy @emmaannhardy

http://ukedchat.com/PMA0007

Raspberry Pi Lesson IdeasBy @ESLweb

http://ukedchat.com/SCO00001

Whole School Vision@beazeley

http://ukedchat.com/WSR00004

Primary Curriculum Resource PackBy @michaelt1979


Finished? Try one of these…@misstait_85


Raspberry Pi Lesson IdeasBy @rondelle10_b

http://ukedchat.com/SCO00001

Magic Instructional WritingBy @ICTmagic

http://ukedchat.com/PEN00011

Adverbs Prompts & PracticeBy @UKEdChat

http://ukedchat.com/PEN00015

UKED Magazine 17

ukedchat.com/resources

New Beginnings - As a new school year dawns I begin a new adventure in a new post, amongst a new staff. Before I do, there is an element of self-reflection. Who am I? What is it about myself that I want them to know?

Gone are the days where the only information new schools and colleagues have about us is our application, personal references and impressions gained through visits prior to taking up our new post. Yes, they may have “Googled” you and seen the digital breadcrumbs that follow all of us online. Naturally, the reverse can also be true and I admitted doing a little research to my new Head teacher to find out more about him. It gave me some insights that I found useful when he interviewed me.

Do we leave our online trail to be discovered or do we acknowledge and even refer to it so that we show an awareness of what people will find?

I certainly fit into the latter category. I, like many modern educators, have spent many years developing an online presence. Colleagues are free to view my activities, if they desire, via my Twitter profiles and blogs. Like many, I have laid bare many aspects of my professional and personal life online, for example, advocating greater discussion and understanding of mental health issues. It is a risk, and at times others will read and may not discuss the issue with me and draw their own conclusions which differ greatly from my intentions. For example, I take part in Lesha Small’s Mindshackles project (www.mindshackles.co.uk) which aims to document case studies of depression through words and photographs. A now ex-colleague read about this online, but this did not lead to a constructive conversation, which I considered a shame as this is an aspect of staff wellbeing that should be openly discussed more in schools.

As teachers we are topics of conversation amongst colleagues, pupils and parents in the institutions we work in. There may be many other audiences in addition. Is it egotistical to Google yourself? I believe it is a duty to yourself in terms of self-awareness and safeguarding that you are aware of the online trail that others can find out about you. The more awareness you have, the more you can consider your online conduct and what messages and interpretations others may take from it. Social media has become the watchword for e-trails as we link with others. Many schools now have clear policies about how they expect their staff to behave online. I implore the educational community to keep this an open topic of conversation and discussion.

Many of the people I know that read this magazine are familiar with this concept - many are online educators themselves. However, now that the magazine will be available to order in a printed form, thus far offline educators may also access this information.

Over the last few years I have reflected upon and refined different ways to share my online work. Some work, some do not, but it is an area I will keep looking at as my trail lengthens.

What for you think? Add your thoughts on this topic on Twitter using the #UKEdChat hashtag.

Who am I?Reflections Before Retaking to the

Teachers’ Stage

Seeing double - Andy Knill (Right) with Andy Day@Andyphilipday at the Northern Rocks education festival

Andy Knill is Head of Geography at The Albany School, Hornchurch, Havering. Find the many trails of Andy online mishmashlearning.wordpress.com, globalsolo.wordpress.com and gasigict.wordpress.com and on Twitter at @aknill, @globalsolo and @gasigict.

Educators are sharing more

about themselves online through

social media and blogs.

Image credits: All images were provided by Andy Knill.

18 UKED Magazine

The responsibility for teaching health habits to children does not fall only on parents. A school should lead the children, community and the world as a whole.

As teachers, we are in a good position to act as positive role models for our students. What we do is picked up quickly, it can be frustrating at times, but let's not forget that children tend to learn better by watching and getting involved. Teachers and schools should provide time for nutrition activities on a daily basis to promote positive attitudes about food and its impact on health and one's well-being.

I remember that when I went to school, food and nutrition was a important part of the school curriculum, but this has changed over the years. While the picture is mixed, it seems that less and less food topics are included in school programmes and today children’s knowledge about food is often limited to what is available at fast food outlets.

From what I have observed, there is a great need to increase food knowledge in schools. Cooking lessons, for instance, are very useful tools to create the children’s ability to make better food choices.

Teaching about food will cause a change of attitude within the schools and from there it can spread out and eventually change the whole world. Schools and teachers should be the centre of this change and be the role models.

We, the teachers, need to equip children with the necessary skills and knowledge about food. Once this is done, the children learn to become self-sufficient.

In order to see a change in children's food habits, schools will need to bring parents on board by providing information on healthy food choices and active living, make provision for a school garden, etc.

We talk a lot about healthy food, but do we really know what it means? Do we know what healthy food and healthy living involves? Are we aware of its importance and the impacts it has on each and every one of us?

I'm talking about real food, yes real food.

What is real food?

It is food that nourishes your body.

It comes from the fields to your plate (after going through planting, growing, harvesting and cooking it- Jamie Oliver's Kitchen).

Real food should maintain its natural integrity and should not contain artificial ingredients, which is present in a lot of the foodstuffs you buy from your local supermarket.

According to research, eating whole foods helps reduce the risks of chronic diseases.

The knowledge of real food opens up a path to healthy eating habits, because it includes all food groups, like vitamins, minerals, proteins, fibre, carbohydrates and water, in balanced proportions.

Eating real food helps improve children's academic and physical performances and, as such, the health of our nation. For this reason, schools should include food education in its curriculums.

While the consumption of real food leads to healthy, well proportioned bodies and the ability to concentrate better, food that contains artificial components often leads to the opposite. It causes weight gain and can affect the children’s emotional and cognitive well-being.

Overweight children often get stigmatized by their peers, and in return this influences their psychological and social development. Their body image becomes a major focus leading to low self-esteem, causing quite a burden for the school and its teachers who will have to deal with these issues.

The Importance of a Healthy Diet

By Corinne Boswinkel-Matebge

Having a school garden will encourage children to be part of what they eat through:

• gaining knowledge about where their food comes from

• learning to appreciate naturally tasting food• gaining a sense of pride• building a sense of togetherness

Such a school garden project can only be successful if it is well implemented and monitored by the school and is an integrated part of its food awareness programme.

In May 2014, I became Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Ambassador for my town of Enschede in The Netherlands.

Once a week, after school, children and some parents attend our Food Revolution Club, where they learn about food and share cooking skills, recipes, etc. We have combined the food revolution activities with some fitness dance lessons.

I would like to invite you, fellow teachers, to help your children to discover the healthy choices for a happy nation and a better world. Let’s take action today!

20 UKED Magazine

Corinne Boswinkel-Matebge born in Zimbabwe, acquired a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of South Africa in Pretoria. Since 2009 she has been living in The Netherlands, teaching EAL and Special Educational Needs(SEN) at the International School Twente in Enschede. Corinne set up a multicultural club with students and their parents, which included activities involved cooking with the focus on healthy living. She joined Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, and became the town’s Food Revolution Ambassador @FoodRevEnschede.See Corinne’s fashion designing and fabric painting at ZimlilyDesigns.wordpress.com.

Image Credit:https://www.flickr.com/photos/nicmcphee/4511498998 by Nic McPhee used under Commercial Creative Commons 2.0 License.https://www.flickr.com/photos/wwarby/11902390455 by William Warby used under Commercial Creative Commons 2.0 License. Other images were provided by Corinne Boswinkel-Matebge

To ensure all pupils can access lessons where a lot of text is used, use symbols (I like Widgit symbols) to visualise difficult words i.e. evaporation. Children can access the symbol as well as the word to understand the text. Excellent for maths, science, history and geography lessons.

Amy Follows @amyamsams - Mainstream Primary teacher from East Midlands

• Learn to think before you speak so that the instructions or information you give is clear, logical and as literal as possible.

• Always display a visual timetable somewhere that ALL children can access.• Think about making your displays as simple and clear as possible as lots of bright colours and busy displays

can be over stimulating and distracting.• Have a completely clear system of behaviour management: where possible kneel down to a child’s level

before addressing them - it is awful to feel ‘towered over’ by a grown up; speak in a firm, but calm voice; say the child’s name first to gain their attention and where possible gain eye contact before expressing your point; most importantly, follow through with your threat of consequences.

• Don’t ever be afraid to seek advice or support from a colleague or line manager, even if you need to send a child to ask another adult to cover for you for a few moments while you compose yourself if you feel emotionally charged.

• Focus on making your classroom feel like the most welcoming, safe, secure, comforting, nurturing environment it can possibly be. Keep it tidy and clean. But do forewarn children if you will be rearranging furniture over night.

• Take the time to speak to each member of your class on a 1:1 basis as often as you possibly can on topics that they are interested in, this will help to build close relationships and trust.

• Recognise opportunities for every child to shine - show something to the class, receive a certificate, be nominated in assembly. I strongly advise keeping a register of which child you selected for which event and record the date. You may not notice if you leave someone out but the children (and parents) will.

Abigail Steel @BlackberryCott - Independent Education Consultant; former SENCo and primary mainstream teacher, Berkshire.

Advice from the UKEdChat CommunityHelping all children access and success in the classroom

Every teacher, every pupilThe world of special educational needs (SEN) is currently undergoing significant change. The government has introduced a new system which aims to ensure that all pupils with SEN achieve well in their education, lead happy and fulfilled lives and have more choice and control. As part of this system, a new Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice has been introduced that all schools must have regard to when identifying, assessing and making provision for pupils with additional needs. One of the key messages in the Code is that every teacher is responsible for every pupil, including those with special educational needs. This requires teachers to have the skills, knowledge and confidence to meet a wide range of needs in their class. The starting point for achieving this is high quality, inclusive teaching.

High-quality teaching countsH i g h - q u a l i t y ,

inclusive teaching ensures that planning and implementation meets the needs of all pupils, and builds in high expectations for all pupils, including those with SEN. It is about the day-to-day interactions that take place in the classroom and the different pedagogical approaches teachers use to engage and motivate learners. On a practical level, high-quality teaching requires the teacher to draw on a range of teaching strategies that are closely matched to the learning objectives of the lesson and the particular needs of the pupils in the class. It involves teachers and other adults effectively using assessment and feedback and developing techniques such as questioning, modelling, explaining and thinking aloud to move pupils’ learning forward. For pupils with SEN in particular, it is also about removing some of the barriers to access, participation and learning that many of them encounter.

Removing barriers with ‘RATS’Using the acronym ‘RATS’ can be useful as a framework for considering some of the practical strategies for removing barriers. Some examples of these strategies are highlighted below:• Resources• Accessibility• Time• Specific strategies

Resources• Provide concrete resources for pupils to use e.g.

real-life artefacts, dictionaries, counters, number lines, photographs.

• Use additional adults effectively to support pupils’ learning. Communicate with them to ensure they understand the needs of pupils, the learning objectives and their role in the lesson.

• Provide resources to help pupils remember and understand key vocabulary e.g. work lists, word mats, displays.

• Give pupils the option of using writing frames or graphic organisers to help scaffold learning.

• Provide alternative ways of recording written information e.g. ICT, dictaphones, scribes.

Accessibility• Ensure your classroom is accessible to all pupils, including those with mobility issues or sensory difficulties. Check pupils can move easily around the class, and that seating, lighting and acoustics are appropriate.

• Reinforce clear and consistent classroom rules and routines and use rewards and sanctions appropriately.

• Support pupils who have difficulty accessing instructions by giving them one at a time or providing them in a pictorial or voice-recorded format. Ask pupils to repeat instructions back to you to check they have understood them.

• Ensure written materials are accessible for pupils with literacy difficulties. Consider the ‘readability’ level and the format – using a sans serif font of size 12–14 on a cream background is helpful for many pupils, including those with dyslexia.

• Make the curriculum more accessible by linking learning to pupils’ own experiences and provide opportunities for reinforcing and transferring learning to other contexts.

Every Child Really Does Matter: Tips for Supporting Pupils with SEN

UKED Magazine 21

By Natalie Packer

Time• Allow additional time for pupils who may need it

for writing or processing information, for example when completing tasks or copying down homework.

• Break tasks down into smaller steps or chunks to enable pupils to feel they can manage the task more effectively.

• Provide pupils with sand timers, clocks or stopwatches to help them mange their own time during activities.

• Ensure pupils are clear about the structure of the day and use visual timetables where appropriate.

• Provide additional time for supporting pupils at points of transition e.g. give opportunities for extra visits when moving classes or schools.

Specific StrategiesFor pupils with particular needs, for example dyslexia or autism, there are a number of additional strategies that can support them in a more personalised manner. For further guidance take a look at nasen’s A Whole School Approach to Improving Access, Participation and Achievement. This toolkit includes tips for supporting

22 UKED Magazine

pupils with moderate learning difficulties, speech, language and communication needs, autism and dyslexia.

The new SEND Code of Practice places increased responsibilities on teachers to understand and meet the needs of all pupils. This can be sometimes be challenging for staff in schools but implementing high-quality, inclusive strategies such as those outlined above, will certainly be a good place to start!

Article written by Natalie Packer, author of The Perfect SENCO; published by Crown House Publishing. For further information see Natalie’s website: www.nataliepacker.co.uk

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Book ShelfBook ShelfAs we all know, teaching is not easy. There are very many challenging aspects of the career, but most individuals

join the profession with the most honourable intentions and reasons. In fact, having a sense of ‘wanting to make a difference’ was one of the main reasons teachers entered the profession, according to a previous UKEdChat Survey (click here to view). Yet, the skills needed to make such an impact are complex, with training for the job only allowing the trainee to touch the surface of the challenges they are to face. In fact, putting the theories into practice can be overwhelming as you are faced with class upon class of very different characters who all deserve the very best education available.

Taking time to stop, pause and reflect is always encouraged, but finding inspiration or ideas to develop can be arduous when you are unsure where to turn. Now updated into its fourth edition, one bedrock of reference is Andrew Pollard’s colossal ‘Reflective Teaching in schools’ text which supports initial school-based training as well as extended career-long professionalism. Two levels of support are offered throughout: practical, evidence based guidance on key classroom issues – including relationships, behaviour, curriculum planning, teaching strategies and assessment processes, and; routes to deeper forms of expertise, including evidence-informed ‘principles’ and ‘concepts’ to support in-depth understanding of teacher expertise.

Some books are aimed at trainee teachers, whilst others are aimed at developing practicing teachers – this book is aimed at both. Split into five distinct sections (Becoming a Reflective Professional; Creating Conditions for Learning; Teaching for Learning; Reflecting on Consequences; Deepening Understanding), the book covers most aspects of day-to-day practice, and is also supported by reflectiveteaching.co.uk, offering supplementary resources including reflective activities, research briefings, advice on further reading and additional chapters.

This book should adorn every staffroom in the land, being used as a means of support, continuing professional development, ideas plus references to further research and reading. Well written, the book is accessible to all staff, and should be used to dip in an out, rather than reading from cover to cover.

Published by Bloomsbury, Reflective Teaching in Schools by Andrew Pollard is available from Amazon via the links below.

Buy in paperback at bit.ly/uked14sep10 and the Kindle ebook at bit.ly/uked14sep11

About the Author:Andrew Pollard, former Director of the UK’s Teaching and Learning Research

Programme, coordinated development and is responsible for the final text, with the advice of primary and secondary specialists from the University of Cambridge.

Reflective Teaching in Schools by Andrew Pollard

24 UKED Magazine

Professional Development in the Artsby Holly Barradell

It’s September already and it’s time to go back to school... but don’t fret teachers there’s lots of ‘Arts’ opportunities happening during the autumn term to keep you feeling refreshed and revitalised!

• Applications will open for Artsmark Round 15 in September. Join the Artsmark network now to start planning your application. See bit.ly/uked14sep12

• Why not get yourself started with Arts award and become an adviser? Adviser training takes place regularly around the country. Find a course near you and book a place at bit.ly/uked14sep13

• Interested in taking your students to the theatre more? Pop along to the Unicorn Theatre for an evening of Wine, Cheese and Theatre... Tuesday 23rd September 17.30 – 20.30

To book you need to email [email protected] with the names of the teachers attending and the name and postcode of your school (2 tickets per school)

• Friday 26th – Sunday 28th September, The National Association for the Teaching of Drama are running a conference about Drama in the new curriculum. You can book tickets and read more about this by visiting curriculumshapeshifter.net

• Are you teaching supporting students doing the extended project? Are they basing their project around the arts? Well the National Theatre allows you to visit their Archive to hone their research skills and explore the NT's productions and theatre history. Get in touch with [email protected] to find out more about this.

• Teacher of English needing help with breaking down and interpreting those drama texts? Well fear not, the National Theatre is running a two day course in their new Clore Learning Centre during October half term. The course enables teachers to explore how directors interpret text and bring it to life on stage. You can find out more about this by going to bit.ly/uked14sep14

• Primary teacher? Are you teaching Dance or Dance within PE and want to have the confidence to teach a broader range of Dance? Well the National Dance Teachers Association has the perfect course for you. Read more about it here: ndta.org.uk/cpd you will see that the courses are running all over the country too!

• Music teachers, would you like to get some workshops from the London Symphony Orchestra into your school to support your students learning? lso.co.uk/workshops

• Arts Award Voice is an online magazine for young people, that gives students the opportunity to create a profile and post their arts reviews and blogs to share with others. See artsawardvoice.com

• Arts Award Supporter artists and organisations offer activities that young people can use towards their Arts Award, such as workshops and events. Find your local Supporters on the Supporter map - artsaward.org.uk/supportermap

• Arts Council England Bridge organisations broker experiences for children and young people to connect with arts and cultural opportunities. As part of this, they drive participation in Arts Award and Artsmark in each region. Find out about your local Bridge organisation’s offer. See bit.ly/uked14sep15

Image credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/thesaleswhisperer/14497484237 by Wes Schaeffer used under Commercial Creative Commons 2.0 License.UKED Magazine 25

Holly is the Drama Development Manager for Trinity College London exam board. A GCSE Drama moderator and recently appointed Ofqual expert. Holly is also an executive member of National Drama subject association. Find her on Twitter at @drama_holly

With so much fast food being so readily available for children and young people, it comes as no surprise that many of our children are not as fit and healthy and they should be. Compound this with a general lack of ignorance about where food comes from and ever decreasing household budgets it has become even more imperative to educate children about staying healthy and eating the right food. This is the rationale behind the School Food Plan, a strategy orchestrated by Henry Dimbleby (founder of Leon’s restaurants) on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education and the London Mayor’s Office. The strategy seeks to ensure that all children have a better understanding about food, make better choices about the food they eat and to encourage their family members to do the same. As teachers we know only too well how much hunger and poor nutrition impacts on concentration in class, and studies have shown that well-nourished children perform better at school. At Christ Church Primary School, we are passionate about outdoor learning, a significant proportion of which involves food; planting, growing and cooking, from nursery right the way through to year 6. Children are taught how to plant and cultivate food, weaving cooking and growing vegetables into the curriculum and school life. As a school with a well established pedagogy with regards to food production and healthy eating, we are proud to be acting as one of the lead schools in the School Food Plan’s flagship borough of Lambeth.

Boris Johnson and Henry Dimbleby (founder of Leon restaurants) were amongst the crowd of experts who visited Christ Church Primary just before the summer holidays, to join our breakfast club for their morning meal, and witness some of the fantastic learning and facilities we have developed at school. On arrival, Boris visited the Food Lab, where he joined a group of year 2s and 5s making their own smoothies out of blending fresh fruit and milk. The Food Lab, is a designated kitchen area, where children can learn to cook various

healthy recipes, and practise cooking skills (often with fruit or vegetables grown on site). Boris was then taken to our rooftop garden by a year 1

child, to bake some rolls in our handmade cob oven. After enjoying his freshly baked bread, Boris visited our outside forest school area, where the Magic Breakfast club children were cooking their breakfast of ‘twisties’ (twisted dough on a stick) and boiled eggs over an open fire [See photo below]. It was great to hear the oohs and ahhs of our visitors who were surprised to see such a great green space that was more in keeping with Epping Forest than the centre of Brixton!

The Food Plan at SW9... by Sarah Wordlaw

At Christ Church we have developed a broad, enriched curriculum with an emphasis on teaching life skills as well as developing academic prowess. As part of this we have designed a curriculum with a progression of cross curricular skills, relating to food production, cooking and staying healthy. The headings are the same from Early Years up to KS2, and include areas such as Healthy Eating, Consumer Awareness, Food safety and hygiene, recipes and ingredients evaluation to name but a few. [See photo top, next page]. We have whole school projects such as ‘Design a healthy snack bar’, which are researched, developed and created and then provide children with healthy snack ideas for mid-morning break. Being the leading school in the Natural Thinkers curriculum also, we have worked closely with the Royal Horticultural Society, training not only staff from Christ Church, but holding

training for staff in schools across the borough. Staff are taught to facilitate children in exploring

UKED Magazine 27

Image credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nanagyei/14286158175 by Nana B Agyei used under Commercial Creative Commons 2.0 License.All other images provided by Sarah Wordlaw and Martin Burrett

and connecting with nature, learning about healthy living and where food comes from and understanding how to cultivate plants and vegetables. Located in the heart of Brixton, we believe it is particularly important for children to know where their food comes from as lots do not have their own garden or access to nature. Good nutrition improves concentration, learning and behaviour. We want to prepare children for life, not just secondary school, and understanding health, nutrition and how to grow and cook wholesome food is an integral cog in establishing healthy eating patterns and habits for life.

Sarah Wordlaw is a Year 4/5 teacher at Christ Church Primary SW9, we are located in Brixton. Our school twitter account is @christchurchsw9. See more of what we do on our website at christchurchschool.cc

ictmagic.wikispaces.com

The best websites from

earth.nullschool.netA fascinating 3D globe which shows air currents and lots of other data. View in real time or review past data. A must use site for geographers.

classcharts.comA superb classroom management tool where you can track the behaviour of your class and keep them motivated. Simply click on the child and assign them a positive or negative behaviour point. Use this information to help you arrange the children within your class. The data is encrypted to ensure data security.

wegivebooks.orgA superb collection of children’s ebooks to read in your browser - from classics to modern titles. A free sign up is required.

trebleapps.co/knitMake scavenger hunts for your students on your Apple device. Add a location and text to leave clues or prompts.

28 UKED Magazine

Reading CornerReading Corner

Each interactive story comes with a range of online activities to enrich the story.of my favourite tools allows the child to animate and record their own versions of the story, or another story altogether, using images, props and characters from the original.

Schools get a selection of physical books from the collection to use in their classroom or for the library. Teachers also receive a myriad of photocopiable tasks, sheets, activities and planning which has been designed by teaching colleagues, with even more available to download from the website.

The Return of the JabberwockThis story follows the adventures of a young boy dressed in a makeshift knight’s

costume, with a colander for a helmet, as he conquers the dark woods - the shadows lurk and the everyday takes on a eerie, otherworldliness, and confront his fears. This is just one book on the platform. It is beautifully illustrated and it really caught my eye for the potential for cross-curricular educational links, from light and dark in science, English fable ideas or even possible moral discussions in PSHE. But more than that, it is a magical story of a child lost in imagination.

Finding just the right story for your primary class can make a term breeze by as your children excitedly produce wonderful, imaginative and vibrant work. I began to bring e-books and interactive stories into my classroom, but something has always been lacking - that is until I stumbled across the Loved by Kids - Story Station.

This reading and learning platform has been designed with both pupils and teachers in mind giving so much more to the reading experience for everyone. Why? Once you have Story Station, a school can use any of the resources across the key stages on as many PCs or Laptops as

you wish, making it equally suitable to replace your ‘big book’ or as a personal reading book for a child.

The site has a wide range of books from leading publishers and authors that will appeal to most young readers, with the catalogue expanding all the time. Each book is lovingly animated while still keeping that essential feel of a book. The children can read the book for themselves or they can have it read to them. At every stage of the way the children can interact with the story which is a great way to stimulate and encourage dialogue around the plot. Each story has a variety of digital games and activities for the children to complete, which complement the books very well. One

Story Station has been a delight to use with my class and more content is being added all the time. You can find out more and sign up for a free trial at

lovedbykids.com & follow @lovedbykids

Each school gets a superb photocopiable set of resources to compliment the interactive books.

lovedbykids.com

uked magazine sep 2014

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